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Judge on need, not on diagnosis

The Autism Project, Nov. 10-21

Sun., Nov. 25, 2012

Re: The Autism Project, Nov. 10-21

I loved your recent series “The Autism Project.” For the uninformed it would be truly enlightening to read the difficulties faced by children, parents, adults, mothers, researchers and service providers who are affected by this epidemic.

I just have one problem. Why focus only on autism? The challenges that were highlighted are considerable for any person (child or adult) facing any developmental disability. As a parent of an adopted son with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, Tourette’s and ADHD, I have also faced the hurdles of diagnosis, treatment, advocacy, education and support. I equally worry about his future and the availability of services as he enters his teenage years and what will happen to him in adulthood. This is made twice as hard as he is not able to access the limited services that are available to those with a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder, although he presents with similar characteristics and challenges. Government spending based on diagnosis leads to inequality. Why is my son less deserving of help?

Autism is the diagnosis of the decade. Lots of advocacy and media attention have led to scientific discovery, increased awareness, increased government spending and special educational programs. As your series highlighted, this has only scratched the surface of what is needed but at least they are getting somewhere.

What about those individuals who also need these services and can't access them because they don’t have autism? I have had doctors suggest trying to get my son diagnosed with autism so that I can access these services. I've seen it in my job — children with multiple diagnoses, one of them autism, so that they can access services. I believe this is one of the reasons for the increase in autism in the population. I suggest programs and services based on need rather than diagnosis.

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I would love to see more diverse services and programs for all and, while your articles were excellent and educational, I would love the media to draw attention to the difficulties of all with disabilities rather than focusing on the diagnosis that will get the most attention.

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